


(No) Deal With The Devil! (An Inspector's As Good As His Word)

by friendlytroll



Category: Lupin III
Genre: M/M, Meet-Cute, Rivalry, ghengis khan romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-24 17:15:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15635148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/friendlytroll/pseuds/friendlytroll
Summary: Inspector Zenigata got where he was not by being the fastest, but by being willing to outlast and outwork anyone in his way. Near the beginning of his career, not a single criminal could put up with it. And this won't be any different.... not even some brat calling himself after Lupin can stand in his way! ...Wait, why is he smiling?





	(No) Deal With The Devil! (An Inspector's As Good As His Word)

It’d been a long day. But even at this relatively early point in his career, Inspector Zenigata was used to long days. Even when he was at the academy, it’d been made very clear to him he’d never be the fastest man of the law on his feet. Literally, but he’d known even then they meant to politely sneer over his wits.

He let them. And was more then  _happy_ to invite them in for a cup of coffee when he’d been promoted! All water under the bridge. After all. He was surely too  _stupid_  to do something like privately enjoy watching people bite down their envy.

He lit his fourth cigarette, the faint light just illuminating the musty theater storage room he was in. He held his lighter up a moment, just enough to watch it reflect a thousand times over in the facets and smooth curves of jewels and gold stored there. Fakes, of course.

Or at least they were supposed to be.

They’d arguably been right. He wasn’t naturally fast in any direction. He just didn’t have to be. All he had to do was work hard. Long enough, and he could outlast anyone. Any rival, any crook he’d ever come across... it was just a matter of time. 

 But he had to admit, whoever the hell this god damn ‘lupin’ brat was he had come as close as anyone ever had to exhausting Zenigata completely.

 He’d shown up completely out of nowhere; his heists weren’t just big, they were FLASHY. He showed up everywhere, from Rio to Osaka, leaving his signature and completely humiliated local police forces in his wake.

It had been enough to make Zenigata worried he’d just be up and arrested before he'd make it to a heist in HIS turf. No such luck. For him or for this supposed ‘Lupin’… he’d have to wait and see. But either way, he'd make sure this 'Lupin' would think twice before messing with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police.

The faintest creak outside the door was his cue to put his cigarette out, pinching the end off between his fingers, waiting. He counted, patiently, as the seconds ticked by, until at last…

The door opened, and someone stepped inside. He didn’t give them a chance to so much as smell the smoke in the air before his hand shot out, slamming the door shut, and moving between him and it, slamming his hand on the light switch. The storage room had no windows, no other doors, and he’d had the air vent  _welded shut_. This was it. Nowhere left to run.   
  
“FREEZE! You’re under arrest.” he bellowed, and ALL the waiting was worth it to watch his perp spin around in place, ALL worth it to see the LOOK on his face as he was…

….smiling?

“Woah! Nearly gave me a heart attack there!” Lupins eyes WERE wide in shock, but instead of horror, or dawning realization, or just ANY sign he realize he was going behind bars. He’d pressed his hand to his chest theatrically, with a smile as crooked as his crimes.

“Didn’t you HEAR me? I  _said_ -“ Zenigata drew himself up for a proper bellow stoping only in shock when he felt the other man *pat his shoulder*.   
  
“Yeah, yeah, I heard you~ Yell any louder and you’ll bust an eardrum.” he wiggled one finger in his ear with an exaggerated wince, before WINKING of all things and leaning in closer, hands in his pockets. Silent out of pure dumbfounded shock Zenigata nearly recoiled back from it, but stood his ground, back to the closed, single exit from the room.

“ Heyyy, I remember you! Y _ou’re_  the one who got me the night of the opera when I first snagged the tiara! Have you been tailing me this whole time? I’m awful flattered~” he put a hand to his chest, tilting his head to regard him with the smuggest face Zenigata had ever seen on a man.   
  
“That’s right, punk. I didn’t even need to tail you. In and out that fast, with guards on every exit, and you expected us to think you, what, walked right through one of the walls?” it was his turn to grin, a triumphant blaze flowing through him as he leaned right back at the smaller man.

Only he’d… sort of been expecting HIM to lean BACK in turn. He didn’t, and Zenigata’s total unwillingness to back down caused him to bump for-head to forehead against him, giving him entirely too good a look at that grin.   
  
“That’s the idea. Grandpa always says, [no one ever looks for stolen money in it’s safe].” the switch to french was so fluent that he had to force his brain to switch gears. Languages never came naturally to him either, but he had long ago devoted himself to making sure nothing, not even a language barrier, could keep him from his quarry. 

“Nobody except ME.” he corrected him with a snarl. Lupin's head tilted back the other way, eyes seeming to sparkle as he regarded him thoughtfully.

“…yeah~ I guess so~” The thief FINALLY backed up a step, walking over to the stored costume jewelry.

“HEY. Hands where I can see them!”

“Re-laaaaax. Where would I go? You got me fair and square, Officer. I might as well save you a little time, right?” he called back, carefully picking through the boxes before picking up a single gaudy stage crown. Zenigata relaxed slightly, but he didn’t trust him any further then he could throw… any further then Lupin could have thrown _him_.

“That’s right. But I’m not keeping my eyes off of you for one SECOND Lupin, or whoever you are.” he snapped, watching as Lupin peeled off a coating of gold paint, revealing the delicate silvery lines of the stolen tiara.   
  
“Well. I do like an audience. But I have to admit, you really kept me on my toes. I could barely get my 20 winks without wondering if I’d wake up next to you.” Lupin turned back to him, spinning the priceless jewelry on his finger casually.

Zenigata kept his eyes on the other mans face, ignoring the sparkling arc.   
  
“…hey, Inspector. How about I make you a deal.” He leaned back against a stack of crates, still spinning the tiara. 

“ _Absolutely_  not.”

Lupin winced, and mimed as if he’d been hurt.   
  
“At least let me finish! Hear me out. You made a loot of trouble for me. But you have to know by now how this will end, right? Same way it did for eeeveryone else who goes up against little old me.“

“Or I arrest you, now, and you finally have to answer for your crimes.” zenigata crossed his arms, watching as Lupin sighed and rolled his eyes a little. He might have been more angry about his clear assumption he would fail, but at least the theif finally looked HONEST.

“Sure, sure. But what if it’s just like every other time? I slip out, you get humiliated. And I’d really hate to do that to a guy like you. So….? Why take the risk?” he halted the spinning of the tiara, letting it come to rest in his open palm, which he held out to him, smoothly.   
  
“…What are you doing.” Zenigata asked, a little of the weeks exhaustion creeping into his voice.   
  
“Making you a deal. You can take the tiara. I slip out, but YOU get to be the FIRST person to ever stop me. They’ll probably give you a medal! Whaddya say?”   
  
Zenigata stared down at him, impassively, the silence hanging in the air long enough for Lupins smile to wobble as he kept holding up the tiara.   
  
“…come on. I’m doing you a favor. I don’t have to be  _your_  problem,  _I’m_  down one on my perfect record… it’s a win! Heck, you could even pop out a few of the diamonds and say  _I_  did it! Nobody’d have to know-“

The handcuffs had slammed shut around his wrists before the Tiara even hit the ground. And the shocked look on his face shone even brighter then any gemevercould have.

“… _wow_ , you’re faster then you l- _hrk_ “

He grabbed Lupin by the collar, stepping forward to drag him up in the air closer to his face as giddy triumph mingled with righteous fury. Not to mention the joy of making him SHUT UP.

“ _Never.”_ he hissed.

“There’s no money in the  _world_  that could keep me from bringing YOU in, Lupin. And maybe you’re right. Maybe you WILL slip away. And you know what’ll happen then?” he stared dead into his eyes, effortlessly holding lupin up high enough the mans feet dangled off the ground.   
  
“I. Will. CHASE YOU. For the rest. Of your. LIFE. I don’t  _care_ if I’m humiliated. I don’t care if not catching you  _ruins my career._  I won’t give up. You’ll live your whole LIFE wondering if I’m behind every corner. And you’ll have to escape me a hundred, a THOUSAND times, Lupin.  _ **I**  only have to catch you ONCE._” his outburst left him breathing roughly- setting the man down with the belated realization he probably shouldn’t try to throw him around. That was a little far.   
  
Still, it was good to finally see the shock and realization sink in on his face, that NOW his luck had run OUT and- why was he smiling.

Lupin was staring up at him, eyes wide, and… grinning. Not a sleek, crooked, weasely grin. Just… beaming.  _Happily_. It was so unnerving he forgot what he was going to say next.

“….So… no deal?” Lupin asked.   
  
“Of COURSE no deal! I’d rather DIE then foil you because of some awful trick of YOURS.” he snapped, trying to get back on his feet with this, shoving aside the sudden… fluster and  _unease_  he felt.

“And if I run… it’ll be just like this whole past week. Forever.” he was still giving him that look. Zenigata’s every instinct was beginning to scream that somehow, this was a  _trap_. He couldn’t think how, though. 

“That’s RIGHT. So you had better come with me. Who knows, there MIGHT still be a decent member of society in you somewhere.” he reached out to grab the chain of the handcuffs, almost as if to make sure they really were locked on him.   
  
Lupin immediately stepped forward at the same time, pressing chest to chest, looking up at him with that same expression of strange _giddiness_.  
  
“…Promise?” he asked.   
  
“What?!”

“Will you promise? That if I run… you’ll come after me. And you won’t give up.” he seemed  _expectant_. Maybe the stress of finally being caught had made him crack. Zenigata exhaled through his nose roughly. He was tired, and that sensation he was somehow walking into a trap refused to shut up.

The smart thing was to just drag him out, and not rise to whatever bait this was, and leave all his own idiotic romantic notions back with his paperback collection where they belonged.

“I swear, on the honor of my  _ancestors_ , and the Zenigata family NAME, that if you somehow weasel out of this, _I won’t rest until i catch you._ ” he snarled, still looking him dead in the eyes.   
  
“Happy,  _Lupin_?” he asked.   
  
Lupin moved, bringing his arms up over Zenigatas head, startling him- but instead of going in for a choke or a hold he just… squeezed his arms around him, and in the same motion, pressed his lips against Zenigata’s cheek.

“…more then you might ever know, Pops. You’re gonna want to close your eyes~”

“Wh-“ he went red, so shocked by the motion he barely registered the metal *click* of the handcuffs popping open.   
  
Lupin leapt back faster then he could almost follow, blowing him a kiss, winking, and suddenly darting for one of the blank walls… throwing down a metal capsule that filled the room with light and smoke. Zenigata threw his arm up over his eyes and tried to snatch for him with a bellow, but it was too late.

Lupin the Third was gone, and all he left behind was the secret door he’d found or somehow MADE in the storage rooms walls, the tiara (dented, but otherwise unharmed in the corner), and Zenigata himself.   


 

He was right. Lupin was, anyhow. He did get a medal for having ‘rescued’ the jewelry, and it was all he could do not to fume through the whole ceremony. He slipped away back to his office at the very first opportunity.

He’d never be able to find out how they had gotten there, but waiting on his desk sat three things. A bottle of what he had to reckon was thousand-dollar sake, a bouquet of Lupine flowers, and a note which read-

“Remember, a promise is a promise!”

Its only signature a doodle he’d come to know all too well, soon enough.

In the end, he had poured himself a drink.

After all. It’d been a long day.

**Author's Note:**

> In which ‘cha boy has gotten way, way, WAY into Lupin the third as of the last... checks watch.... four days, and fell exactly as hard and as fast for Inspector Zenigata as I think literally anyone who knows me and the show like at all would have assumed. 
> 
> Ive been poking at random through Red Coat era and found an episode while, not great, had Lupin making a deal with a new pursuing officer to leave him be in exchange for all the money from his recent caper. Which go me to thinking about how things might have gone wayyy in the past. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I have no idea if there isn’t Some Official Way they first met, and do not care because as near as I can tell this series’ canon is a pick-and-mix disaster so my city now.
> 
> Edit: So I snuck back in after finding out that in at least one canonical take, Zenigata was a totaly normal cop *before* he started chasing Lupin and... thats cute as hell. He wasn't interpol??? just. A Cop. He got into Interpol on the strength OF his ability to catch lupin. Bless.


End file.
